The present invention relates to industrial fasteners and more particularly to those industrial fasteners that are used to pull and secure two panels together.
At the present time there are a number of industrial fasteners commercially available to pull and secure together two panels, for example, two panels which meet in a butt joint. The panels may be, for example, portable enclosures, packing cases, instrument cases, transit cases, trunks, and other packages. Generally such fasteners consist of two separated members, each one of which is attached to one of the panels. For example, one panel may be a container lid and the other panel the container body. Such fasteners may be used to obtain a tight seal and may be used to compress a gasket positioned between the two panels.
Two types of industrial fasteners are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,853,751 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,853,752, both to Ernest Schlueter and both assigned to Simmons Fastener Corp. U.S. Pat. No. 2,820,995 to Ernest Schlueter describes a "spring loaded link lock fastener" in which a hasp member is mounted on a spring wire pivot. An eccentric pin 66 is integral with a bolt 60 and engages in a transverse slot 68. The bolt is a solid member, for example, a relatively expensive casting, see FIG. 6 therein.
Although the presently commercially available fasteners are satisfactory for many purposes, there has been a need for a suitable fastener which would be rugged and which would operate under adverse environments and yet which would not be relatively expensive or relatively complex. For example, an industrial fastener utilized on an instrument case for an electronic device for the military may be required to exert 90 lbs. of pulling pressure to pull down the case lid and be capable of resisting 300 pounds of tension, tending to separate the lid. In addition, such a fastener is required to be able to be operated in arctic temperatures of 70.degree. F. below zero and resist damage due to impact and dropping.